Most French back Libya military action - poll

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PARIS, March 22 (Reuters) - A majority of French support the Western military action in Libya, according to the first poll carried out in France since operations started against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces on Saturday.

France has been spearheading efforts to implement a U.N. resolution on Libya and was the first country to send fighter jets over Libyan skies to halt the advance of Gaddafi’s troops towards the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in the east of the country.

The survey conducted by pollster IFOP showed 66 percent of those surveyed supported the intervention by the coalition in Libya and there was no difference between left-wing or right-wing political streams.

“This result shows a strong development from the first IFOP survey carried out before the military action,” it said in a statement. “At the time, 36 percent of people surveyed backed a military intervention of the United Nations in Libya.”

By contrast, only one in three Britons agree with the decision to take military action in Libya, a ComRes/ITN poll showed on Monday. [ID:nLDE72L00A]

Haunted by the Iraq war and continued losses in Afghanistan, Britons said they were wary of getting dragged into another lengthy foreign conflict at a time of belt-tightening at home. (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Janet Lawrence)